Short answer
Ensure that the user's cognitive resources are not overly taxed by the interaction design, allowing them the mental space to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the product.
- Field
- User-Centred Design
- Source
- Current Biology (2017)
- Method
- Experimental study with within-subjects design
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Reducing cognitive capacity diminishes the experience of beauty and associated pleasure, suggesting that aesthetic appreciation is an active cognitive process. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2017 study published in Current Biology. Using Experimental study with within-subjects design, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Ensure that the user's cognitive resources are not overly taxed by the interaction design, allowing them the mental space to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the product.
Cognitive Load Significantly Impacts Aesthetic Judgement and Pleasure
Reducing cognitive capacity diminishes the experience of beauty and associated pleasure, suggesting that aesthetic appreciation is an active cognitive process.
Current Biology · 2017
Key Findings
- 01Reducing cognitive capacity significantly decreased the reported experience of beauty and pleasure from stimuli.
- 02Strong pleasure was consistently associated with beauty, regardless of whether the stimulus was primarily aesthetic or sensuous.
- 03Kant's claim that beauty requires thought was supported, but his claim that sensuous pleasures cannot be beautiful was disproven.
Application
Design takeaway
Ensure that the user's cognitive resources are not overly taxed by the interaction design, allowing them the mental space to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the product.
How to apply
When designing a new product, consider conducting user testing that includes a secondary task to simulate cognitive load and observe how it affects users' perception of the product's beauty and their overall satisfaction.
Project actions
- 01When evaluating the aesthetic appeal of your design, consider how easy it is for users to interact with it.
- 02Think about whether your design requires a lot of mental effort to understand or use, as this could impact how beautiful users find it.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Directly tested a long-standing philosophical hypothesis.
- +Used multiple sensory modalities for stimuli.
Limitations
The specific stimuli used might not represent the full spectrum of 'beautiful' or 'sensuous' experiences. The 'two-back' task is a specific form of cognitive load.
Reliability & validity
The study's reliability would be supported by consistent results across participants and stimuli. Validity is supported by the direct testing of Kant's hypotheses and the use of multiple sensory modalities.
Think critically
To what extent does the 'beauty' experienced from a sensuous pleasure (like tasting candy) differ qualitatively from the 'beauty' experienced from a complex visual artwork, even if both evoke strong pleasure?
Design Principles
"Aesthetic appreciation is facilitated by sufficient cognitive capacity; minimize unnecessary cognitive load to enhance user experience."
This research highlights that beauty is not a passive reception of sensory input but an active cognitive engagement. Designers can leverage this by considering how the complexity of their product's interaction or information architecture might affect a user's ability to appreciate its aesthetic qualities.
What This Means for Your Design
If you're trying to enjoy something beautiful, like art or a well-designed object, and someone keeps interrupting you or asking you to do a difficult mental task, you won't enjoy it as much. But if you feel really good from something simple, like eating your favorite snack, that feeling can also be beautiful.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing how user interface complexity or interaction design can influence aesthetic judgment and user satisfaction.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
Research by Brielmann and Pelli (2017) indicates that the experience of beauty is significantly influenced by cognitive load. Their findings suggest that reducing a user's cognitive capacity diminishes their perception of beauty and associated pleasure, highlighting that aesthetic appreciation is an active cognitive process. This implies that design choices impacting cognitive load, such as interface complexity or interaction demands, can directly affect how aesthetically pleasing a product is perceived to be.
Source
Questions About This Research
- What does the research say about cognitive load significantly impacts aesthetic judgement and pleasure?
- Ensure that the user's cognitive resources are not overly taxed by the interaction design, allowing them the mental space to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the product. Evidence: Current Biology (2017).
- Why does "Cognitive Load Significantly Impacts Aesthetic Judgement and Pleasure" matter for design?
- This research highlights that beauty is not a passive reception of sensory input but an active cognitive engagement. Designers can leverage this by considering how the complexity of their product's interaction or information architecture might affect a user's ability to appreciate its aesthetic qualities.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Ensure that the user's cognitive resources are not overly taxed by the interaction design, allowing them the mental space to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the product.
- What were the main findings?
- Reducing cognitive capacity significantly decreased the reported experience of beauty and pleasure from stimuli.. Strong pleasure was consistently associated with beauty, regardless of whether the stimulus was primarily aesthetic or sensuous.. Kant's claim that beauty requires thought was supported, but his claim that sensuous pleasures cannot be beautiful was disproven.
- What research method was used?
- Experimental study with within-subjects design.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2017 journal from Current Biology.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a new product, consider conducting user testing that includes a secondary task to simulate cognitive load and observe how it affects users' perception of the product's beauty and their overall satisfaction.
- What are the limitations?
- The study used specific stimuli and a particular cognitive load task, which may not generalize to all aesthetic experiences or all forms of cognitive distraction.